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I found a Sony Str-DN1010 out-of-box deal for $250. I love the look of this receiver & love the fact that it should go well with my new Sony Bravia TV & Bluray player. The reviews I've read said Pioneer, Denon & Onkyo have better sound though. My question is would I even notice a sound difference in a small 11x13 room with Energy Take Classic 5.1 speakers that'll ONLY be used to watch movies (no music)?

I found a Sony Str-DN1010 out-of-box deal for $250. I love the look of this receiver & love the fact that it should go well with my new Sony Bravia TV & Bluray player. The reviews I've read said Pioneer, Denon & Onkyo have better sound though. My question is would I even notice a sound difference in a small 11x13 room with Energy Take Classic 5.1 speakers that'll ONLY be used to watch movies (no music)?

Current generation SONY receivers are no good if you care about sound quality.

You'll probably be OK in such a small room. I was VERY dissappointed in the midrange (~$1200) Sony I bought about 18 months ago. The amps were a bit anemic even in stereo, and running five speakers the power was only about 1/3 the stereo power. It is now serving light duty in our family room (mainly just background music) until I upgrade the media room (hopefully next year).

"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley

I read some reviews that indicated that the Sony STR-DN1010 was lacking in sound quality.

On the other hand, I can attest that the Sony STR-DH810 sound quality is very good as I have one. Amazingly good for the price, actually, and I also like the appearance (and small size!) of the Sony units. You can get a new DH810 for close to what you were quoting for the out of box DN1010.

The STR-DH810 works just fine with stereo music, as well.

DelJ

Quote:

Originally Posted by Corndog131

I found a Sony Str-DN1010 out-of-box deal for $250. I love the look of this receiver & love the fact that it should go well with my new Sony Bravia TV & Bluray player. The reviews I've read said Pioneer, Denon & Onkyo have better sound though. My question is would I even notice a sound difference in a small 11x13 room with Energy Take Classic 5.1 speakers that'll ONLY be used to watch movies (no music)?

Current generation SONY receivers are no good if you care about sound quality.

IMO this horse (receiver X sounds better than receiver Y, receiver Z sounds like crap, etc.) has been beaten to death over and over and over again. SQ is primarily a function of speakers, room acoustics, acoustic treatments and EQ-ing...unless you have "golden ears".

This may be true with the higher end receivers, where one would expect all of them to be pretty good. Not true for the low end receivers where cost constraints will often compromise sound quality (no surprise here). I recently compared two low cost 2010 model receivers in my home (all external variables being the same) and there was a big difference between the two receivers in terms of sound quality. The loser was so poor that I went through all the settings again just to see if I did something wrong.

DelJ

Quote:

Originally Posted by samsurd2

...SQ is primarily a function of speakers, room acoustics, acoustic treatments and EQ-ing...unless you have "golden ears".